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Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!shelby.stanford.edu!Xenon.Stanford.EDU!csilvers From: csilvers@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Craig Silverstein) Newsgroups: rec.arts.henson+muppets,news.answers,rec.answers Subject: rec.arts.henson+muppets FAQ Supersedes: <Muppet-FAQ-until-5-2004@opmfaqs> Followup-To: rec.arts.henson+muppets Date: Sat, 1 May 2004 07:11:16 +0000 (UTC) Organization: Organization for Posting Muppet FAQs Lines: 857 Approved: teej@panix.com, news-answers-request@mit.edu Message-ID: <Muppet-FAQ-until-6-2004@opmfaqs> Reply-To: teej@panix.com, csilvers@cs.stanford.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: xenon.stanford.edu X-Trace: news.Stanford.EDU 1083395476 18560 171.64.66.201 (1 May 2004 07:11:16 GMT) X-Complaints-To: news@news.stanford.edu Summary: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Muppets Keywords: rec.arts.henson+muppets faq last modified 28 February 2004 Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu rec.arts.henson+muppets:19746 news.answers:270651 rec.answers:86857 Archive-name: arts/henson+muppets/faq URL: http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~csilvers/muppet-faq.html Posting-Frequency: monthly Expires: June 1, 2004 REC.ARTS.HENSON+MUPPETS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Version 1.16. Last updated: 28 February 2004. Changes since last version: #6 (Disney bought the muppets), #33 WWW location: http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~csilvers/muppet-faq.html Before we start, let me get this out of the way: the two old guys in the balcony are Statler and Waldorf. (See question 9.) CONTENTS QUICK ANSWER I. Administrivia 1. A Muppet newsgroup? That's SO cool! Well, we think so What is rec.arts.henson+muppets? A friendly newsgroup 2. What other fan activities exist? Muppet Central et al. 3. I have strong opinions about this FAQ. teej@panix.com, Who should I send "comments" to? dannyjhorn@toughpigs.com csilvers@cs.stanford.edu II. Muppets and their owners 4. What is a Muppet, anyway? Puppets, but different 5. Why are Muppets left handed? Because performers aren't 6. Doesn't Disney own the Muppets? Yes, pretty much 7. Who runs the Muppets nowadays? The Henson family 8. What's the address of The Jim Henson 117 E. 69th Street Company? New York, NY 10021 III. "The Muppet Show" and its cast 9. Who are the two old guys in the Statler and Waldorf balcony? 10. What is Gonzo? What about Scooter? (i) Whatever (ii) Human 11. Where has Scooter gone, anyway? He's been retired 12. And where has Skeeter gone? Down the Amazon 13. What's the best ever Muppet sketch? Mahna Mahna :-) IV. "Muppets Tonight!" and its cast 14. Muppets *what*? Successor to The Muppet Show 15. Who plays Kermit now? Steve Whitmire 16. What is Clifford? What is Pepe? (i) Human (ii) Prawn What is Eugene (Nigel's buddy)? Mink V. Muppet Movies 17. Does Beaker give Scrooge the bird He gives the index finger in _Muppet Christmas Carol_? VI. "Sesame Street" 18. Is XXX dying of any disease? NO 19. Are Ernie and Bert gay? No evidence either way 20. I heard PBS is going to cancel SS. Not gonna happen VII. Things available on the 'net 21. Who is...? Lew Zealand? Uncle Deadly? 22. Who performed...? Big list of all performers 23. In what episode did...? Lists: SS TMS MT! FR, more 24. What are the lyrics to...? Lists: SS TMS 25. Where are sounds of...? At a few official sites 26. Where are pictures of...? At a few official sites 27. What records/CDs/CD-ROMs/videos/books A lot, but some are are there? out of print 28. Where can I buy Muppet stuff? Many stores 29. What's that program that turns stuff The Encheferizer into Mock Swedish? Bork bork bork! 30. Yes, but where are the *Muppet sites*? All over the web VIII. Now Playing 31. Can I get _The Storyteller_ on video? Yes you can 32. What Muppet merchandise is planned Check the press releases for release? 33. What Muppet stuff is on TV nowadays? Depends on the country A humble request: If someone posts a question that is answered here, please be polite anyway. Yelling to read the FAQ gets to be more annoying that answering the question that was asked. ----------------- I. ADMINISTRIVIA 1. A Muppet newsgroup? That's SO cool! What is rec.arts.henson+muppets? It's a newsgroup devoted to Muppets and other Jim Henson creations, in all their wonderful shapes and forms. This newsgroup is meant to supersede alt.tv.muppets, the newsgroup formerly devoted to Henson and the Muppets. Don't post anything to alt.tv.muppets; post to rec.arts.henson+muppets instead! In r.a.h+m we talk about Muppets in cartoons, movies, television shows, happy meal boxes, you name it. While not emphasized in this FAQ, we often also discuss _The Dark Crystal_, _Labyrinth_, "Fraggle Rock," "Dinosaurs," and other Henson productions. We talk about Babe and other creations from Jim Henson's Creature Shop. We do not really discuss puppets or puppetry in general; rec.arts.puppetry is more appropriate for this. While "Sesame Street" would not be the same without the Muppets, there is more to "Sesame Street" then just the Muppets. If you want to talk about extra-Muppet parts of "Sesame Street," consider alt.tv.sesame-street. And if you are feeling terribly silly, there's always alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork. Please observe the following rules (from the r.a.h+m charter): o Don't post copyrighted material. o You can advertise -- Henson-related materials only! -- but please, no more than 6 such posts per person per month. o Posting of binaries is strictly prohibited. If you want to post a picture, post it to alt.binaries.pictures.misc -- or better yet, put it up on a web site somewhere -- and then post a message to r.a.h+m saying what you've done. 2. What other fan activities are there? If you're in New York City or Los Angeles, The Museum(s) of Television and Radio have a huge collection of Muppet programs for viewing. These includes rare Muppet clips that, no matter how big a Muppet fan you are, you've never seen before! The NY address is 25 West 52nd St, New York, 10019, and the phone number is (212) 621-6600. The LA address is 465 North Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, 90210, and the phone number there is (310) 786-1000. (Thanks to Danny Horn and Rodney Elin for this info.) On the web, Muppet Central, maintained by Phillip Chapman, has chat forums and messages boards, original articles about the Muppets, Muppet news and current events, and more. It is at http://www.muppetcentral.com/ 3. I have strong opinions about this FAQ. Who should I send "comments" to? Comments (but please, no thugs!) should go to o teej@panix.com o dannyjhorn@toughpigs.com o csilvers@cs.stanford.edu We welcome, and indeed relish, comments. ----------------- II. MUPPETS AND THEIR OWNERS 4. What is a Muppet, anyway? Muppets are puppets invented by Jim Henson and his colleagues. Muppets were specially designed to be on television and in the movies, using camera techniques as well as classical puppeteering techniques to create the illusion of life. Many Muppets are hand puppets with arm wires. However, Muppets now include the most advanced computer and animatronics technology. For the purposes of this newsgroup, "Muppet" covers anything that has been created by The Jim Henson Company or the Creature Shop, including creations in "Muppets Tonight!," "The Muppet Show," "Sesame Street," "Fraggle Rock," "Dinosaurs," _The Dark Crystal_, _Labyrinth_, _Babe_, etc. Here's Jim Henson's take on the question, from an interview by Judy Harris (full text is at http://www.bestweb.net/~foosie/henson.htm; the article that came out of this fascinating interview is in the April/May 1983 issue of _Cinefantastique_): "Well, to me the Muppets are sort of fuzzy, bright colored, cute, lovable caricatures." He's explaining why, to him, the creatures in _The Dark Crystal_ aren't Muppets. But we don't listen. La la la, we go. In the same interview, Henson talks about the origin of the word "Muppet": "It was really just a term we made up. For a long time I would tell people it was a combination of marionettes and puppets but, basically, it was really just a word that we coined. We have done very few things connected with marionettes." 5. Why are Muppets left handed? You may have noticed that Muppets, particularly Muppet musicians, tend to do everything with their left arms. This is because most Muppet performers are right handed and use their primary hand to control the head and face of the Muppet. (Louise Gold is one of the few left-handed performer, and her Muppets are right handed.) This leaves them their left hand to control the Muppet's arms. Muppets like the Swedish Chef, which are controlled by two performers, are of course an exception. 6. Doesn't Disney own the Muppets? Yes, pretty much. Here's how ownership breaks down, along with the date the relevant company acquired control: o Sesame Workshop: Sesame Street Muppets (Dec 2000) o Disney: All other Muppets, Bear in the Big Blue House (Feb 2004) o Henson family: Everything else, including the Creature Shop, Fraggle Rock, movies like Labyrinth, the Hoobs, etc (May 2003) Before February 2000, the Henson company was independent. In February 2000, the German company EM.TV bought the Muppets. They turned around and sold the rights to the Sesame Street characters to Sesame Workshop (formerly Children's Television Network). EM.TV proceeded to utterly collapse, and in May 2003 sold the Muppets back to the Henson family, for about the value they bought it. Henson then sold the rights to the Muppets (and Bear in the Big Blue House) to Disney in February 2004. It's interesting to compare the various press releases as the Henson family lost, gained, and again gave up control: http://www.henson.com/company/press/html/022100.html http://www.henson.com/company/press/html/050703.html http://www.henson.com/company/press/html/021704.html Disney worked with the Hensons before buying them in 2004. As far back as 1989, the Walt Disney Company entered into negotiations to acquire The Jim Henson Company (then Jim Henson Productions) and the Muppets. Jim Henson died during the negotiations, and the deal eventually fell through. However, the JHC and Disney continnued to work together, such as for the (wonderful) MuppetVision 3-D at Disney/MGM studios in Orlando and at Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim. Presumably, we'll now see even more along these lines. 7. Who runs the Muppets nowadays? The Henson family now owns the company (having bought it back from EM.TV) and also runs it. Brian Henson and Lisa Henson are co-chairs and co-CEOs. The Board of Directors consists of all five Henson children plus Charles Rivkin (who was President and CEO before and during the EM.TV period). Peter Schube, President and COO, is the other major senior executive not from the Henson clan. 8. What's the address of The Jim Henson Company? 1416 North La Brea Avenue Hollywood, CA 90028 The original New York office is (or was, since the building was put up for sale in Dec 2003) at 117 E. 69th Street New York, NY 10021 Note that this is an office building and is not open for tours. The Creature Shop is in London: 30 Oval Road Camden, London NW1 7DE If you want to email them, try the following address: fanmail@henson.com The Jim Henson Company was formerly known as Jim Henson Productions, and, before that, Henson Associates! Through the 1970's, the company was called Muppets, Inc. ----------------- III. "THE MUPPET SHOW" AND ITS CAST 9. Who are the two old guys in the balcony? Statler and Waldorf. Statler is the taller, thinner one sitting on the right as we look at them in their box. Waldorf's wife is named Astoria. They are all named after old New York hotels. 10. What is Gonzo? What about Scooter? The current best answers are "whatever" and "human," respectively. Christopher Finch, in the almost-definitive "Of Muppets and Men," relates the following ad-libbed exchange on the backstage of "The Muppet Show": "Kermit/Jim Henson turns to Scooter/Richard Hunt and asks, 'What are you anyway?' 'My mother was a parrot,' Scooter replies. 'We don't know about my father. It was during the war.' 'Really?' says Kermit. 'Which side was he on?'" Finch describes both Scooter and Gonzo as "creatures of indeterminate provenance." Continuing the trend, on the official Henson web site (at http://www.henson.com/ask/ask_archives_body.html#Goelz3) David Goelz talks coy about Gonzo, saying not even Gonzo himself knows. In many movies he's called a Whatever -- starting in "The Great Muppet Caper", where that's the marking on Gonzo's airplane crate -- and that's the answer we Faqmeisters usually give. (Though _Muppets From Space_, in which Gonzo is an unnamed alien species, muddies the picture still further.) Note that the answer has changed over time: the Gonzo Muppet's first appearance was as a Frackle in "The Great Santa Claus Switch" (though clearly this is not the Gonzo we know and love today). Another alternative identification is in "Muppet Babies," in which Gonzo is sometimes called a "weirdo." Also, in "The Muppet Movie," Kermit says Gonzo looks "sort of like a turkey... but not much." (Judging by the Muppet turkey in "The Muppet Family Christmas," he doesn't look much like a turkey at all.) As for Scooter, his uncle, J. P. Grosse, who owns the theatre, is clearly human. Despite Hunt's joking around, Scooter is probably a human too. While he's called a "gofer," that's his position and not his species ("gofer coffee," etc). 11. Where has Scooter gone, anyway? The performer who performed Scooter, Richard Hunt, died in 1992 of complications due to AIDS. Scooter was not really seen since until _Muppets From Space_, in which he had a small cameo. It is unlikely he will ever return as a major character. 12. And where has Skeeter gone? Scooter's sister Skeeter has never been part of the non-animated Muppet world; she exists only in "Muppet Babies," probably as a nod towards gender equality (though this one instance is hardly enough to mitigate the distressing lack of female voices in the Muppet world). In any case, the writers and producers of "Muppet Babies" like to think she became a famous explorer and disappeared down the Amazon. 13. What's the best ever Muppet sketch? Mahna Mahna, with Mahna Mahna and the two Snowths. Even now, you sing "doo doo do doo doo" under your breath every time someone says "phenomena," don't you? You know you do. Seriously, we don't mean to impose our point of view on the FAQ-reading masses. We just love Mahna Mahna, that's all. :-) (btw, the Mahna Mahna skit is on the video "It's The Muppets: Meet The Muppets," Henson Video VHS 1620.) ----------------- IV. "MUPPETS TONIGHT!" AND ITS CAST 14. Muppets *what*? It's the most recent Muppet TV show. Originally it was on ABC, then the Disney Channel, but alas it's no longer showing in the US. Not that we're biased, but "Muppets Tonight!" is *great*. We all love Bobo, and Johnny Fiama (possibly Fiamma) and Sal (Minella -- ha ha), and Pepe and Seymour, and even Garth Brooks! Alas, the broader public did not agree, and no new episodes are being produced. 15. Who plays Kermit now? Steve Whitmire (whose other credits include Rizzo the Rat, Bean Bunny, and Wembley Fraggle -- he's been a major player since "The Muppet Show"). He has been performing Kermit since Jim Henson's death. He also performs Ernie. Brian Henson has never performed Kermit. Whitmire's first Kermit performance was in the 1990 special "The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson." 16. What is Clifford? What is Pepe? What is Eugene (Nigel's buddy)? These have definitive answers, from the performers. Clifford is a human: In the Billy Crystal episode, Clifford says to Rizzo, "I'm the man and you're the rat. I've got genetic seniority." In early press releases for "Muppets Tonight!" he was referred to as "Clifford the Rasta," but that's his religious affiliation, not his species. In the Garth Brooks episode, Kermit calls Clifford "catfish-faced" but never actually calls him a catfish. Which is good, because he isn't one. Pepe is a Prawn. (From _Muppets From Space_: "I am a King Prawn!") Eugene, Nigel the Director's buddy -- the one who pops out of the control panel during the opening sequence -- is a mink. This isn't actually a Frequently Asked Question (to date, it's been asked all of once) but we threw it in because of its trivia value: Steve Whitmire contributed this answer during discussions of "Muppet Classic Theater" (in which the mink's head-banging performance in "Gotta Get That Name" stole the show for many of us). This was the first ever post of a Muppet performer to alt.tv.muppets, the progenitor of rec.arts.henson+muppets. ----------------- V. MUPPET MOVIES 17. Does Beaker give Scrooge the bird in _Muppet Christmas Carol_? At one point during _Muppet Christmas Carol_ it looks like Beaker flips off Scrooge. Does he? Close examination of the video reveals that (a) Beaker uses his index finger (the second of his four fingers), and (b) the back of Beaker's hand isn't toward Scrooge. While the gesture is angry, it isn't obscene. ----------------- VI. "SESAME STREET" 18. Is XXX dying of any disease? No. No way, no how. No "Sesame Street" Muppet character is dead, dying, or planning to die. This is a rumor that has been circulating since Jim Henson died in 1990 -- people were afraid that since Henson died, the producers of "Sesame Street" were also going to make Ernie die on the show, so that children could learn about death (as they did when Will Lee, the actor who played Mr. Hooper, died). This rumor has since spread and mutated to include Bert, Grover, and other characters, and any number of diseases and fatal accidents. However, the producers have *no intention* of "killing" any character on "Sesame Street." Jim Henson's characters are kept alive on the show by rerunning sketches that were recorded in the first twenty years of the show, and new Ernie sketches are also being made with Steve Whitmire performing Ernie. Please help to stop this rumor when you hear it. Anyone who is afraid for the life of any character should be encouraged to actually watch an episode of "Sesame Street," where they will see Ernie, Bert, and all the gang, still alive and well. 19. Are Ernie and Bert gay? This is a source of wide speculation, but nothing has ever been said on "Sesame Street" to indicate that Ernie and Bert have any sexual or romantic feelings at all. While we wouldn't want to suppress free speech on this newsgroup, beware: discussions on this topic have historically been ugly. Rest assured that your point of view has been stated before. 20. I heard PBS is going to cancel SS. You would have to attribute a great deal of stupidity to PBS to have them canceling one of their most popular programs. While PBS funding is always in danger, "Sesame Street" would be among the last shows to go -- in fact, PBS has renewed its contract for "Sesame Street" through 2002. If you see a petition claiming otherwise, ignore it. (This is a good rule of thumb for email petitions in general. Since there is no way to control forgery or repetition of signatures in email petitions, these petitions are universally ignored.) ----------------- VII. THINGS AVAILABLE ON THE 'NET 21. Who is...? http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~csilvers/muppet-characters.html http://www.kermitage.com/html/characterindex/tms/index.html http://www.angelfire.com/super2/sesameak/ This first site has lists: Muppets from "The Muppet Show" and "Muppets Tonight!" and Muppets and humans from "Sesame Street" (both the U.S. and some non-U.S. versions). Compiled by Charles Evans, Bob Pedersen, Rueven William Goren, Jogchem Jalink, and others. The second site has an amazingly detailed list of the Muppets seen on the Muppet Show, and the third has the same for Sesame Street. Do you know who Abe and Bernie are? What episode featured Astoria? The name of Telly's sister? Me either. Answers to some particularly frequent ID requests: o The guy who throws fish: Lew Zealand o The guy who blows things up: Crazy Harry o The scary-looking blue monster: Uncle Deadly o The piano-playing dog: Rowlf o The guy who hits his head on the piano on SS: Don Music o The yip-yip aliens: Bob and Joe Martian 22. Who performed...? http://www.punchandjewelry.com/legacy/html/mpindex.htm http://www.toughpigs.com/extrarecast.htm Chris Vaughn and Sue Rose have put together an extensive, though now somewhat out-of-date, list. Many characters are no longer performed (or no longer exclusively performed) by their original performer; the second site, by Danny Horn, discusses many characters' performers, both old and new. 23. In what episode did...? http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/VR/BS/Muppets/muppets.html http://www.muppetcentral.com/guides/episodes/tms/season1/ http://www.kermitage.com/html/epguide/tms/tmsseasons.htm http://www.best.com/~tbrowne/MuppetsTonight/ Believe it or not, the first URL holds episode guides for every "Muppet Show," "Fraggle Rock," "Dinosaurs," "Muppets Tonight!" and "Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss" episode ever aired. In addition, there are descriptions of some of the Muppet skits from "Sesame Street." D.W. McKim and Michael Dixon both have very substantial episode guides for The Muppet Show, at Muppet Central and kermitage respectively. The Muppet Central version is more detailed, while the Kermitage page is more complete and consciously tries to leave out "spoilers". 24. What are the lyrics to...? http://home.nc.rr.com/muppetsongs/ http://members.tripod.com/Tiny_Dancer/sesame1.html http://www.punchandjewelry.com/legacy/html/lyrics_ind.htm The first site has all sorts of Muppet and Sesame Street songs, including Rainbow Connection, It's Not Easy Being Green, Just One Person, the theme from "The Muppet Show," and more! The second site, compiled by Tiny Dancer, has "Sesame Street" songs. Besides all the songs you'd expect (Rubber Duckie, "Sesame Street" theme), it has many Frequently Asked Lyrics: the Alligator King, Captain Vegetable, I Don't Want to Live on the Moon, We All Live In A Capital I, etc. The third site has 232 songs (apparently all of them) from "Fraggle Rock." 25. Where are sounds of...? http://www.muppets.com/downloads/sounds.htm http://www.henson.com/ There are various sites throughout the web with wav or mp3 clips of the Muppets, but for copyright reasons, we only include information about sounds on official sites. The first site has sounds of several Muppet characters as well as a few songs. The second site is more clip-oriented, but has a wider range as well as videos. Unfortunately, you have to poke around the site a bit to find them all. 26. Where are pictures of...? http://www.muppets.com/profiles/profiles.htm http://www.henson.com/ http://www.kermitage.com/html/characterindex/tms/ For copyright reasons, we only include information about pictures on official sites. Luckily, there are several official sites with pictures on them. The first URL has pictures of most of the important Muppets. henson.com has a nice section on Muppet charcters; click on "characters" in the lower-left corner of the main screen. The semi-official Kermitage can also help with Muppet Show muppets. For pictures of the many Muppet collectibles that have been produced, check out http://www.muppetcentral.com/collectibles/muppets/index.shtml 27. What records/CDs/CD-ROMs/videos/books are there? http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/VR/BS/Muppets/muppography.html http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/104-8830538-0225560 The first link, Bill Sherman's muppography, is quite large and wonderful but is not updated frequently. Luckily (perhaps) neither are the albums, CDs, CD-ROMS, videos, books, etc. The Henson store (actually run by Amazon), has some Muppet- and Henson-related products for sale. VIDEO: The best is Bill's muppography! A note on availability: The first three Muppet movies, including _Muppets Take Manhattan_, have been re-released. They should be available, for instance, through Amazon. Other Muppet movies, and some "Muppet Show" compilations, are also available. The Playhouse Video compilations, such as "Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff," are no longer being produced. Neither are "Dinosaurs" episodes or "Dog City" episodes. On the other hand, the world is currently swamped with "Sesame Street" videos. Time-Life has released a colleciton of Muppet Show episodes on VHS and DVD. The DVD versions are pretty good; for details check out http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=smcguire-34D633.13193623092001%40enews.newsguy.com To buy, you can call 1 (800) 950-7887 or visit http://www.timelife.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/BrowseCatalog-Volumes;%24sid%24PWhaYD1igmDIs92j7GFf_2jZJ-zHE5xv?ProductSKU=MSBXX&Origin=MSBXX&CollectionId=MSBXX&CategoryName=22 At checkout, try coupon code TLMP4 or AMEXDS to get a discount on your order. There are also videos available in other countries (see, eg, http://www.redismoitout.net/sommaire2.html for French). ALBUMS: Bill's muppography has a list of albums. The Muppets are currently "between" record companies -- they dropped Jim Henson Records/BMG Kidz, and rumor has it they are working on starting a new label, possibly this year. Right now only relatively recent albums are in print: "Kermit Unpigged," _Muppet Treasure Island_, "Bear in the Big Blue House," _Muppets from Space_. "Sesame Street" albums are a dime a dozen. BOOKS: Bill's muppography has a huge list of books. Books we think are particularly neat: o _Of Muppets and Men_ by Christopher Finch o _Jim Henson: The Works_ by Christopher Finch o _Sesame Street: Unpaved_ by David Borgenicht _Of Muppets and Men_ is very hard to find, and bidding for it has exceeded $100. The other books are still in print and can be ordered, say, from Amazon books (http://www.amazon.com/). I've also heard good things about _Designs and Doodles_, by Alison Inches. 28. Where can I buy Muppet stuff? http://www.henson.com/shop/index.html http://www.muppetcentral.com/collectibles/shop/index.shtml The first URL is Henson's link to amazon.com. The second also has links to products at Amazon, but also has a section for collectibles and for trades. However, there are many other Henson items you can buy at various places. Here are some program-related stores: Henson-sanctioned store: http://www.henson.com/shop/index.html _Bear_ links to stores: http://www.bearinthebigbluehouse.com/shopping/shop_home.html Specific anniversary-based memorabilia: Anniversary watch: http://www.fossil.com/Product/Product.asp?Tier1=Collectibles&Tier2=CC&Dept%5FID=CC&Cat%5FID=c01&Prod%5FID=li2050 MuppetFest stuff: http://www.creationent.com/muppetfest.htm And collectible stores (you may need to recombine the URLs): Collectibles and cards: http://www.2momluvme.com/ New stuff, collectibles: http://www.muppetcentral.com/collectibles/shop/index.shtml Collectibles: http://www.scifiwarehouse.com/cgi-local/ss000001.pl?SS=muppets&TB=A&PR=-1 Plushes: http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=wickedcoolstuff&query=muppets Action figures!: http://www.palisadestoys.com/new/MUPPETS_SITE/MUPPET_MAIN.html More action figures: http://www.toymania.com/columns/spotlight/muppets3.shtml Busts: http://www.sideshowtoy.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=muppetshome Pins, clothes: http://www.hottopic.com/store/searchSKU.asp?SSTR=muppets T-shirts: http://www.tshirtnow.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/tshirtnow/mupp.html?L+tshirtnow+hcpg5678 Assorted clothes: http://store.alloy.com/catalog/browse/productgroup.asp?PARENT=TOON_STYLE_PG&CATALOGID=TOON_TIME Disney (MuppetVision): http://www.mouseshoppe.com/ MuppetVision beans: http://www.mouseshoppe.com/directory.cfm?CategoryID=406 "Sesame Street" items: http://www.kbkids.com/w/l/snb.html?txt=sesame+street Sesame Street shirts: http://www.hottopic.com/ Various products: http://www.emerchandise.com/browse/MUPPETS/A:MUPFAQ/ Don't forget timelife.com for the Muppet videos! And of course, the standard auction sites often have Henson stuff. (Special thanks to Nancy Eilers-Hughes for help compiling this list.) 29. What's that program that turns stuff into Mock Swedish? http://www.almac.co.uk/chef/chef/chef.html ftp://shell5.ba.best.com/pub/tbrowne/swedish_chef It's called the "Encheferizer." 30. Yes, but where are the *Muppet sites*? http://www.henson.com/ http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/VR/BS/Muppets/muppets.html http://www.muppetcentral.com/ The first site is the official Henson web site; the second is Bill Sherman's unofficial site; the third is maintained by Phillip Chapman. All are chock full of information. For instance, the official site has tons of video and audio clips (dating all the way back to "Sam and Friends"), Bill Sherman's site has detailed descriptions of every episode of "Muppets Tonight!" ever aired -- and even their ratings! -- and Muppet Central has news about current happenings in the Henson world as well as chat forums and articles. Bill's site hasn't been updated in a few years, while Muppet Central is currently quite active. Let me also put in a plug for the great site by Danny Horn, faqmeister ex officio. Finally, in the interests of full disclosure, we should tell you there's another FAQ out there: the official Henson Company FAQ. As corporate FAQs go, it's very well done. It can be found at http://www.henson.com/ask/ask_faq.html The following page is also well worth a look: http://www.henson.com/ask/ask_archives.html The Henson Company: http://www.henson.com/ Bill Sherman's site: http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/VR/BS/Muppets/muppets.html Muppet Central: http://www.muppetcentral.com/ Danny Horn's site: http://www.toughpigs.com/ Muppet World: http://www.muppetworld.com/ Bear in the Big Blue House: http://www.bearinthebigbluehouse.com/ The Hoobs: http://www.hoobnet.com/ Sesame Place: http://www.sesameplace.com/ Carroll Spinney Fan: http://carollspinney.netfirms.com Mar's Muppet site: http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Farm/4164 Muppet News etc: http://www.camelliasoftware.com/TheMuppetsSite Muppet Museum: http://www.camelliasoftware.com/museum/welcome.htm Muppet Disco site: http://SesameSeventies.com/ Fraggle Rock: http://www.punchandjewelry.com/legacy/html/frindex.htm Fraggle Rock 2: http://www.fragglerocker.com/ Muppet*Vision 3D: http://members.aol.com/muppetvisn/mypage.html Labyrinth: http://www.abbagirl.com/labyrinth.html The Muppets on IRC: http://members.aol.com/JawaHutt/muppet.html Pepe's LJS commercials: http://ljs.winnercomm.com (password howcanyouresist) Jerry Nelson site: http://e.domaindlx.com/jerrynelson A Muppet forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/freemuppet/start Building puppets: http://muppets.zapto.org Muppet e-cards: http://www.realgreetingcard.com/showcards.asp?CategoryID=304 What Muppet are you: http://www.geraldfield.com/cgi-bin/unofficial/quizzes/sfesurvey.cgi?whatmuppetareyou Please contact us if you have a Muppet page to add to this list. ----------------- VIII. NOW PLAYING 31. Can I get _The Storyteller_ on video? It used to be you couldn't, but now you can. _Storyteller_ is out on video; there have been sightings of some episodes on VHS, and the entire collection is available on DVD from Amazon, starting 26 August 2003. By the way, _The Dark Crystal_ and _Labyrinth_ have also been released on VHS and DVD. 32. What Muppet merchandise is planned for release? http://www.henson.com/company/press/co_press_info.html http://www.toughpigs.com The press releases are perhaps the best place to get a sneak preview of what products are scheduled for release. Danny's Tough Pigs site also does an excellent job of keeping track of what's for sale out there. _The Muppet Movie_, _The Muppets Take Manhattan_, and _The Great Muppet Caper_ are all out on DVD. Consensus is these DVDs are ok but not great -- either few extras, poor image quality, or both. On the other hand, _Muppets From Space_ and _Muppet Treasure Island_ are superb DVDs. Time-Life has released a large Muppet Show collection. (See question 27.) _John Denver and the Muppets_ is now available on DVD. It used to be you couldn't see this for love or money, but now half that situation is resolved! See, for instance, http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/catalog/catalogDetail_DVD043396015920.html 33. What Muppet stuff is on TV nowadays? http://www.henson.com/television/nowshowing/ The official Henson site has listings of what Henson shows are on (American) TV. The "as of" date is when I last received information about listings in that country; the newer the date the more likely it is the listing is accurate. All US times are Eastern. United States -- as of July 2003 (thanks to Danny Horn and MuppetCentral) ------------- "Animal Jam" -- Discovery Kids Channel, weekdays, 7:30 am, 10:30 am; The Learning Channel, weekdays, 8:00 am "Bear in the Big Blue House" -- Disney Channel, weekdays, 6:00 am and 11:30 am; weekends, 6:00 am "Farscape" -- Sci-Fi Channel, weekdays, 12:00 am; Saturday, 5:00 am "Play With Me Sesame" -- Noggin, daily, 8:00 am, 11:00 am "123 Sesame Street" -- Noggin, daily, 5:00 am, 9:00 am, and 12:30 pm "Sesame Street" -- PBS, daily, various times Canada -- as of Febraury 2003 (thanks to Brian Knatchbull, Jamie Gray) ------ "Farscape" -- YTV, Wednesdays, 8:00 pm "BRATS of the Lost Nebula" -- YTV, Wednesdays, 6:30 pm "Bear in the Big Blue House" -- Treehouse TV, weekdays, 9:00 am, 1:30 pm, 6:00 pm, 10:30 pm; Saturdays, 6:30 am, 11:00 am, 3:30 pm, 8:00 pm; Sundays, 12:30 am "The Secret Life of Toys" -- TV Ontario, weekdays, 8:15 am, 10:15 am; Sundays, 7:05 am "Dog City" -- Teletoon, Weekdays, 10:30 am; YTV, Sundays, 6:00 am "Dinosaurs" -- Family Channel, weekdays, 12:00 pm, 7:30 pm "Mopatop's Shop" -- YTV, weekdays, 1:10 pm Great Britain -- as of June 2002 (thanks to Emma Shane, Daryl Barber) ------------- "The Hoobs" -- Channel 4, weekdays, 6:05 and 6:30 am; weekends, 6:10 am; Nick Junior, daily, 7:00 am and 4:00 pm "Farscape" -- Sci-Fi channel, Sundays, 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm "Bear in the Big Blue House" -- Channel 5, weekdays, 8:00 am; Playhouse Disney, daily, 6:05 am, 8:40 am, 11:05 am, 1:35 pm, 4:00 pm, 6:35 pm and 9:00 pm; Disney, weekdays, 9:35 am and 12:15 pm; weekends, 5:35 am "Dinosaurs" -- Disney, weekends, 7:35 am "Sesame Street" -- Nick Junior, weekends, 6:30 am Australia -- as of June 2000 (thanks to Robert Whyte, Mac North) --------- "Farscape" -- Channel 9, Saturdays, 8:30 pm "Bear in the Big Blue House" -- ABC, weekdays, 3:00 pm "The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss" -- Nickelodeon Australia, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 10:00 am and 12:30 pm "The Secret Life of Toys" -- FOX 8, Saturdays and Sundays, 3:00 pm "Dog City" -- FOX 8, Saturdays and Sundays, 3:30 pm "Big Bag" -- Cartoon Network, Sundays, 8:00 am "Sesame Street" -- ABC, weekdays, 8:30 am and 3:00 pm Denmark -- as of December 2003 (Thanks to Henrik Rytter) ------- "Bear in the Big Blue House" -- Disney Channel, weekdays, 9:00 am and 2:00 pm "Dinosaurs" -- Disney Channel, daily, 9:00 pm "The Muppet Show" -- DR2, Thursdays, 5:40 pm Norway -- as of December 2003 (Thanks to Henrik Rytter) ------ "Bear in the Big Blue House" -- Disney Channel, weekdays, 9:00 am and 2:00 pm "Dinosaurs" -- Disney Channel, daily, 9:00 pm "Sesam Stasjon" -- NRK1, Thursdays, 6:00 pm Sweden -- as of December 2003 (Thanks to Henrik Rytter) ------ "Bear in the Big Blue House" -- Disney Channel, weekdays, 9:00 am and 2:00 pm "Dinosaurs" -- Disney Channel, daily, 9:00 pm "The Secret Life of Toys" -- Barnkanalen, Saturdays, 9:00 am and 11:45 am The Netherlands -- as of May 2003 (Thanks to Danny Sanders) --------------- "Sesamstraat" -- Nederland 3, weekdays, 8:30 am; daily, 6:00 pm Belgium -- as of March 2004 (Thanks to Danny Sanders) ------- "The Muppet Show" -- KetNet, weekends, 7:30 pm Germany -- as of March 2004 (Thanks to Danny Sanders) ------- [nothing] Israel -- as of April 1997 (thanks to Yoni Dital) ------ "Muppets Tonight!" -- Channel 1, Tuesdays, 7:30 pm India and South Asia -- as of January 2002 (Thanks to Ganesh) -------------------- "Sesame Street" -- Hallmark Channel, weekdays, 7:00 am and 4:00 pm (usually); Saturdays, 11:00 am Singapore -- as of December 1998 (Thanks to Tayan) --------- "The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss" -- Eureka Learning Channel 06, Singapore Cable Vision, Fridays, 7:00 pm "Sesame Street" (English) -- TV12, Premiere 12, weekdays, 4:00 pm "Taman Sesame" (Malay) -- TV12, Premiere 12, Saturdays, 6:00 pm "Zhima Jie" (Chinese) -- TV12, Premiere 12, Sundays, 6:00 pm Mexico -- as of July 1997 (Thanks to Rachel Moss) ------ "Plaza Sesamo" -- Univision, Saturdays, 8:00 am Does anyone know shows, stations, and times for other countries? ----------------- END of rec.arts.henson+muppets FAQ.